The Food Bank of Delaware and The Franklin P. and Arthur W. Perdue Foundation — the charitable giving arm of Perdue Farms — announced a new partnership to “Drive Out Hunger” in the community this morning at the Food Bank’s Milford branch.

The foundation presented a “Drive Out Hunger” challenge grant in the amount of $57,500 (more than half of the cost) to purchase a new, refrigerated, 26-foot box truck to safely transport and re-distribute perishable donations to food insecure communities throughout Delaware.

The Food Bank of Delaware, The Franklin P. and Arthur W. Perdue Foundation and Perdue Farms have now challenged the community to raise the additional $42,500 needed to purchase the $100,000 truck.

“At Perdue, we believe that in a country as rich as ours no one should go hungry,” said Kim Nechay, executive director of the Perdue Foundation. “That’s why we’re proud to be a long-time partner in the fight against hunger with the Food Bank of Delaware. We’re proud to support their Drive Out Hunger initiative through a grant from the Foundation and help improve food security for our neighbors in the First State.”

Perdue and the Food Bank of Delaware have been partners in the fight against hunger for nearly three decades and, together, have helped provide more than 13.6 million meals to seniors, families and children struggling with hunger.

“Our fleet travels more than 450,000 miles each year allowing for the safe transport and delivery of both perishable and nonperishable food to Food Bank of Delaware partners,” said Food Bank of Delaware President and CEO Patricia Beebe. “We own all of our vehicles requiring significant maintenance and repair budget lines which grow each year as our fleet ages. The maintenance and repair cost for all 25 vehicles exceeded $35,000 last fiscal year. Taking high-mileage vehicles off the road has become a priority as maintenance and repair costs continue to increase each year as the miles and wear and tear continue to mount. We are thankful for Perdue’s support as we work with our community to get this new vehicle on the road.”

Companies that donate more than $5,000 towards the challenge will have their logo prominently displayed on the new truck.

To learn more about supporting the Drive Out Hunger challenge, contact Larry Haas, Food Bank of Delaware Development Director, at (302) 294-0185 or lhaas@fbd.org. To make an online contribution, please click here.